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DAMASCUS, Syria – Two suicide car bombs ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday,killing 55 people and shaving the facade off a militaryintelligence building in the deadliest explosions since thecountry's uprising began 14 months ago, the Interior Ministry said. Residents told an Associated Press reporter that the blastshappened in quick succession during morning rush hour, with aninitial small explosion followed by a larger bomb that appearedaimed at onlookers and rescue crews arriving at the scene.Paramedics wearing rubber gloves collected human remains from thepavement as heavily damaged cars and pickup trucks smoldered. There was no claim of responsibility for Thursday's blasts. But anal-Qaida-inspired group has claimed responsibility for several pastexplosions, raising fears that terrorist groups are entering thefray and exploiting the chaos. In addition to the 55 dead, the ministry also said there were 15bags of human remains, meaning the death toll was likely to rise. More than 370 people also were wounded in the attack, according tothe ministry, which is in charge of the country's internalsecurity. It said the explosives weighed more than 1,000 kilograms(2,200 pounds). Central Damascus is under the tight control of forces loyal toPresident Bashar Assad but has been struck by several bomb attacks,often targeting security installations or convoys, since the revoltagainst him began in March 2011. But the previous attacks happened on a weekend when many peoplestay home from work, making it less likely for civilians to bekilled. Thursday's blast was similar to attacks waged by al-Qaidain Iraq, which would bolster past allegations by top U.S.intelligence officials that the terror network from the neighboringcountry was the likely culprit behind previous bombings in Syria.That raises the possibility that its fighters are infiltratingacross the border to take advantage of the political turmoil. A shadowy group called the Al-Nusra Front has claimedresponsibility for some of the attacks in statements posted onmilitary websites. Little is known about the group, though Westernintelligence officials say it could be a front for al-Qaida's Iraqbranch. Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri called for Assad's ouster inFebruary. "We strongly condemn the twin bomb attacks this morning inDamascus, which seem to have targeted the maximum amount ofcasualties and damage and which we see as an act of pure terrorism,from what we see initially," said Michael Mann, spokesman for EUforeign policy chief Catherine Ashton. The Syrian government blames the bombings on the terrorists it saysare behind the uprising, which has been the most potent challengeto the Assad family dynasty in Syria in four decades. Butopposition leaders and activists routinely blame the regime fororchestrating the attacks, saying they help it demonize theopposition and maintain support among those who fear greaterinstability. Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, posted gruesome pictures ofthe mangled, charred and bloody corpses and human remains —something that it has done after previous bombings, as well. Thedecision to show such graphic images could be seen as a tactic bythe regime to shock Syrians into abandoning any support for theopposition, which it blames for the country's chaos. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the Norwegian head of the U.N.'s cease-firemonitors in the country, toured the site Thursday and said theSyrian people do not deserve this "terrible violence." "It is not going to solve any problems," he said, when asked whathis message was to those who are carrying out such attacks. "It isonly going to create more suffering for women and children." The attack occurred a day after a roadside bomb hit a Syrianmilitary truck shortly after Mood rode by in a convoy traveling tothe southern city of Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising. The relentless violence in the country has brought a cease-fireplan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan to the brink of collapse.The U.N said weeks ago that more than 9,000 people had been killed.Hundreds more have died since as the conflict has becomeincreasingly militarized, with protesters taking up arms or joiningforces with army defectors to fight a brutal crackdown by regimeforces. On Thursday, Annan appealed for calm and an end to bloodshed. "The Syrian people have already suffered too much," Annan said in astatement. Thursday's explosions began about 7:50 a.m. as the area was crowdedwith people going to work or doing morning errands. Witnesses saidthe first explosion attracted curious passers-by, then secondslater, a far larger explosion went off, causing massive damage. Syrian TV showed shaken young girls in tears who said they were inthe nearby Qazaz First Elementary School when the blast occurred.An hour after the blast, the school's gates were closed and no onewas inside. The explosions left two craters at the gate of the militarycompound, one of them 3 meters (10 feet) deep and 6 meters (20feet) wide. Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi posted amessage on his Facebook page urging people to go to hospitals todonate blood. "The house shook like it was an earthquake," housewife Maha Hijazisaid as she stood outside her house across the street from thetargeted compound, which is headquarters for a militaryintelligence department known as the Palestine Branch. The latest major explosion in the capital occurred on April 27 whena suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt near members of thesecurity forces, killing at least nine people and wounding 26. The previous deadliest attack in Damascus occurred on Dec. 23, whentwo car bombers blew themselves up outside the heavily guardedcompounds of Syria's intelligence agencies, killing at least 44people. On March, 17, two suicide car bombers struck in near-simultaneousattacks on heavily guarded intelligence and security buildings inDamascus, killing at least 27 people. On Jan. 6, an explosion at aDamascus intersection killed 26, including many policemen. International diplomacy has failed to stop the bloodshed, and theU.N. has ruled out military intervention of the type that helpedbring down Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, in part out of fear that itcould exacerbate the violence. Annan brokered a peace plan last month, but the initiative has beentroubled from the start, with government troops shelling oppositionareas and rebels attacking military convoys and checkpoints afterthe cease-fire was supposed to begin on April 12. A team of 70 U.N. military observers now in Syria should grow tomore than 100 in the coming days. A full team of 300 is expected bythe end of the month to oversee a cease-fire intended to allow fortalks on a political solution to the conflict. ___ Associated Press writer Ben Hubbard contributed to this report fromBeirut. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Portable Handheld Document Scanners , Portable Business Card Scanner Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Portable Document Scanner.
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